National Register of Historic Places Received Inventory—Nomination
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NPS Form 10-900 0MB No. 1024-0018 (3-82) Expires 10-31-37 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service For NPS use only National Register of Historic Places received Inventory—Nomination Form date entered See instructions in How to Complete National Register Forms Type all entries—complete applicable sections______________________________ 1. Name historic Locust Grove and or common N/A 2. Location street & number 561 Blankenbaker Lane not for publication city, town Louisville JL vicinity of state Kentucky code 21 county code 111 3. Classification Category Ownership Status Present Use district i% public X occupied agriculture x museum X building(s) private unoccupied commercial park structure both work in progress X educational private residence x site Public Acquisition Accessible entertainment religious object in process X yes: restricted government scientific being considered - yes: unrestricted industrial __ transportation ,. no military other.- 4. Owner of Property Jefferson County Office of name Jefferson County Fiscal Court c/o Historic Preservation and Archives street & number 100 Fiscal Court Building city, town Louisville vicinity of state Kentucky 5. Location of Legal Description courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. street & number 527 West Jefferson Street city, town Louisville state Kentucky 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Listed in National Register on 3/11/71 title Historic American Building Survey has this property been determined eligible? __ yes no date 1940 JL federal state county local depository for survey records Library of Congress city, town Washington state B.C. 7. Description r Condition Check one Check one X excellent deteriorated unaltered JX _ original site good ruins _ X_ altered moved date fair unexposed Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance Locust Grove is located in Jefferson County, Kentucky, approximately 6 miles northeast of Louisville on a high ridge above the Ohio River. Settled around 1790 under frontier conditions, it was the country seat of William Croghan (1752-1822) and his wife Lucy (Clark) Croghan (1765-1838) and was also the final residence of Mrs. Croghan's famous brother, George Rogers Clark (1752-1818) who lived there as a semi-invalid from 1809 until his death. The main residence was built between 1790 and 1792 and is a two story brick house in the late Georgian style that is partially surrounded by a ha-ha wall. The house and grounds have been restored to their 1790-1822 condition. Locust Grove is owned by the Jefferson County Fiscal Court and is managed as a museum and historic site by the Historic Homes 'Foundation of Louisville. Interpretation at the site focuses on the life of General George Rogers Clark and the Croghan family. William Croghan arrived in America in 1769 from Ireland. After working for a few years for a Philadelphia merchant firm, he joined the British 16th Regiment of Foot and served as an ensign until the outbreak of the Revolution. He then joined the 8th Virginia Regiment (later the 12th) as a major. The British captured him at Charleston in 1780, but he was soon paroled and eventually exchanged. In 1781, Croghan met his future wife through her brother, Jonathan, also an officer in the 12th. Later that year he met George Rogers Clark at Fort Pitt. In'11784, Crogftan and Clark were both certified by the College of William and Mary as surveyors for western lands allocated to officers of the Virginia line. They worked out of Louisville with Clark having overall responsibility for all survey activities. Croghan, however, handled most of the work personally and used this opportunity'to acquire some prime land for himself. In 1786, he was appointed along with Clark to the survey commission for the 150,000 acres of Indiana land allocated to Clark and his Illinois regiment for their war time service. In 1789, he succeeded Clark as head of the survey for the Virginia line. Croghan became wealthy from survey fees and land speculation, and at his death his land holdings in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio amounted to a total of 53,860 acres. William Croghan married Lucy Clark in 1789 and the next year purchased the initial 387 acre tract for Locust Grove. He eventually increased the size of Locust Grove to 693.5 acres. Croghan operated his surveying business from a cabin at Locust Grove, but most of the land was given over to agriculture. About 400 acres of gently rolling land on the ridgetop were cleared for orchards and the cultivation of cash crops and produce. He also raised sheep, cattle, hogs, and horses. Croghan 1 s holdings adjacent to the over were not cleared and were used for timber production. There was a grist mill located one-half mile south of the main house, and immediately adjacent to the main house were gardens and various outbuildings. After William Croghan died, portions of Locust Grove were periodically sold off, and by the time the property passed out of the Croghan family in 1878 there 8. Significance Period Areas of Significance— Check and justify below prehistoric archeology-prehistoric community olannino landscape architecture . religion 1400-1499 archeology-historic ._.. conservation law science 1500-1599 agriculture economics literature sculpture 1600-1699 . architecture _ education X military social/ X 1700-1799 _ art .._... engineering __ music humanitarian X 1800-1899 commerce exploration/settlement philosophy theater 1900- communications __ industry politics/government transportation - _ invention other (specify) Specific dates 1790 - 1822 Builder/Architect William Croghan Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) SUMMARY STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE Locust Grove, settled around 1790 in Jefferson County, Kentucky near Louisville, is a nationally significant historic property for its association with General George Rogers Clark (1752-1818) who resided there as a semi-invalid from 1809 until his death. Clark played a decisive role in the western theater of the American Revolution, achieving lasting fame for his brilliant conquest of the trans-Ohio frontier and defense of Kentucky against the British and their Indian allies. 1 Clark came to Locust Grove to be cared for by his sister Lucy (Clark) Crogjian and her husband William Croghan after a fall and severe burn which resulted in the amputation of his right leg. Although Clark lived at Locust Grove long after his productive career had ended, the property is nevertheless extremely important, because the Croghan residence at Locust Grove where Clark occupied a ground floor bedroom, appears to be the only extant structure with which he was closely associated for any continuous period of his life. , GEORGE ROGERS CLARK Clark was born on November 19* 1752 at a family plantation in Albemarle County, Virginia, but in 1757 moved with his family to an inherited plantation in Caroline County, Virginia where he spent the rest. of his youth. He made his first western trip in 1772, was impressed by the region, and spent several years exploring the Ohio River country while working as a surveyor for settlers moving into the area. He initially claimed land near present day Wheeling, West Virginia, but was increasingly attracted to Kentucky because of its fertile soil and the possibility of securing large tracts of land. In 1774, Clark served as a militia captain in Lord Dunmore's War, a punitive campaign against the Shawnees led by John Murray, Earl of Dunmore and Virginia's last Royal governor. Clark saw little action, but he learned the basic skills of frontier warfare—skills that he would soon utilize during the Revolution. In 1775 Clark was in Kentucky working as a surveyor and also establishing his own land claims. Although still a young man, Clark was gaining a reputation as a leader. His experience during Lord Dunmore 1 s War contributed to this, but more important was his role as spokesman for settlers who wanted Virginia to extend her jurisdiction over Kentucky to protect their land claims from the speculative incursions of eastern-based land companies. Clark also realized that the land issue would mean little if Kentuckians were unable to protect 9. Major Bibliographical References SEE CONTINUATION SHEET 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property 55.15 Quadrangle name Jeffersonville, Ind. - KY Quadrangle scale 1:24000 UTM References h. is I leliiyUieml U 12 b is I? 14 10 I n 6 k li \i k 16 o I I 4i 2! 3i si 21 21 o Zone Easting Northing Zone Easting Northing C I 1|6 I I6lli6l7l2l()l Ul2bl8l2 12 10 I D [jjj k ll I ftl 71 71 nl I Al 9! g| «l 71 /.I nl El , 1 1 1 , 1 , , 1 1 , 1 , | , | | <=LL 1 1 1 1 1 , , 1 1 , 1 , 1 , , 1 Ol , 1 1 1 , 1 , , 1 1 , 1 , | I | | "U 1 1 1 1 1 . , 1 1 1 1 , 1 . I 1 Verbal boundary description and justification SEE CONTINUATION SHEET List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries state____________________code______county_________ code state code county code 11. Form Prepared By name/title Stuart K. Johnson, Senior Historian_________________________________ Preservation Services Division, Southeast Region organization National Park Service________________dajte _______________________________________ street & number 75 Spring Street, S.W._____________telephone (404) 331-2633_________________ city or town____Atlanta_________________________state GA___________________ 12, State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: __________ national____—— state________ local________________________________ As the designated